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Nicknaming the Pope: FSJ?

He does need a nickname.JPII . . . B16 . . . FSJ.I realize it will not be unanimously approved. But it has a certain ring to it, doesn't it? And the seal of the Jesuits is very prominent on his coat of arms.

I don't know if he needs a nickname. "Pope Francis" is only three syllables ( Pope Benedict the Sixteenth is kind of a mouthful). Though I guess when writing about him, FSJ is shorter. But I do really like that his name is evocative of St Francis, such a fabulous saint, so I will keep using his full name.

I prefer punctuation for clarity: F,S.J. But whatever will be will come out of practice. And I doubt diminishing accounts for more than 1 or 2% of the interest in the name. Jesus, recall, called His Father "Abba."

Although it was meant to be contemptuous, it always made me laugh when Pope John Paul II was referred to as J2P2. I think it was a columnist for the Village Voice who popularized the abbreviation. It was, of course, a play on R2-D2, the robot in the Star Wars movies.

Let's steer clear of F1. It sounds like a stealth fighter. Besides, a number isn't necessary when there's only one. It's just King John and Queen Anne. But plain F won't do either. FSJ, three scarcely euphonious syllables, is a needless and possibly invidious descriptor, suggesting that the SJ part is an essential mark. It could also prove to be a distressing precedent if a Dominican is ever elected and chooses the name William.It's never impolite to call people what they ask to be called. So I'd go with Francis. Or The Pope.

I'm told that the name Francis was actually a nickname for the famous friar of Assisi, whose given first name was Giovanni; as it was relayed to me, "Francesco" was a nickname signifying something like "Frenchy" in English, and was a name be earned in his pre-conversion names for his dandified attire. (I'm sure someone will correct me if this isn't quite on the money; I'm retrieving from my memory something heard years ago in a homily, so there are multiple ways that this could be not quite factual).Anyway, if this is anywhere close to true, then his name already is a nickname.